Crime branch makes 27th arrest in Baba Siddique murder case

The arrested accused was identified as Amol Gaikwad, a resident of Pune’s Warje area, who was apprehended in Kolhapur, where he was hiding.

Mumbai: The Mumbai police’s crime branch has made its 27th arrest in the murder case of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) minister Baba Siddique. The arrested accused was identified as Amol Gaikwad, a resident of Pune’s Warje area, who was apprehended in Kolhapur, where he was hiding.

Mumbai, Oct 12 (ANI): (File Photo) Senior NCP leader Baba Siddique shot dead, in Mumbai on Saturday. (ANI Photo) (Baba Siddique - X)

Officials said Gaikwad had been on the run since his name cropped up during the police’s investigation into the October 2024 murder and was in touch with the alleged mastermind, Shubham Lonkar, and his brother, Pravin Lonkar, a co-accused. Shubham, who allegedly worked for the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, is still on the run, while Pravin was arrested days after the murder, officials added.

“On the basis of technical evidence, we picked Gaikwad up from Kolhapur, where he was staying in a wrestling academy since his role came up,” said a police officer. Gaikwad had allegedly even travelled with the Lonkar brothers to Mumbai several times, the officer added.

The crime branch has arrested 27 people so far for their alleged roles in the murder and invoked stringent sections of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against them.

Former Maharashtra minister Siddique, 66, was shot dead on October 12, 2024, by three assailants outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office building in Bandra East. He sustained two bullet injuries on his chest and was rushed to the Lilavati Hospital, where he passed away.

The 27 people arrested in the case include the alleged main shooter, Shiv Kumar Gautam. Suspected key conspirators Shubham Lonkar and Mohammad Zeeshan Akhtar are still on the run.

The police believe that gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s brother, Anmol Bishnoi, Shubham Lonkar, and Akhtar allegedly orchestrated the conspiracy and are suspected to have fled to Nepal. Gautam, too, was planning to escape to Nepal, but was apprehended before he could execute his plan, officials said.